Vikes edge rival UBC, join McGill in consolation final

March 9, 2013, Ottawa (CIS) – One of the most interesting aspects of the CIS men’s basketball Final Eight tournament is the familiarity that exists between many of the teams, players and coaches at the event.

Never was that more apparent than in Saturday’s second consolation game at Scotiabank Place, which pitted familiar foes against one another for the fourth time in recent weeks.

The last time the University of Victoria Vikes and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds met, a week ago, the Canada West championship was on the line – the latter squeaked out a hard-fought 72-69 win to take the conference crown and earn one of the top seeds at the tournament.

This time, there was far less at stake.

But pride can be a fantastic motivating factor, and that is exactly what the Vikes were playing for after they were hammered by 37 points by the reigning two-time national champion Carleton Ravens in their quarter-final matchup on Friday evening.

The Vikes would use that as motivation to come away with a 71-65 victory over their Canada West rivals.

“Everybody’s dream was dashed last night,” Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp said. “I think the incentive was that we didn’t play very well last night and got embarrassed a little bit. Taking nothing away from Carleton, but we thought we hurt ourselves and didn’t play up to our potential.”

In a fairly even game that was tied 11 different times and saw eight separate lead changes, the Vikes were dominant in one area, inside the paint.

Victoria enjoyed a 44-28 advantage underneath the basket, with much of that coming down to the impressive play of forward Christopher McLaughlin, who was named player of the game thanks to his 20 points and six rebounds.

Terrell Evans and Brin Taylor each scored 16 points apiece, and the Vikes held UBC to 35.9 per cent shooting from the field.

“We were decent defensively. They only scored 65, so we limited them on the defensive end,” said Beaucamp. “We also got some inside touches. Chris [McLaughlin] had a big game for us at the other end. We were just more solid on both sides.”

Meanwhile, UBC big-man Brylle Kamen led the way for his team, putting up 19 points in a losing effort.

The Vikes now move on to compete in the fifth-place game, which tips-off at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning and will be broadcasted live at www.CIS-SIC.tv.

They will play the McGill Redmen, who came out on top over the Cape Breton Capers in the opening consolation game of the day.

“McGill’s a very good team, they play hard defensively and they can really shoot it, so it’s going to be a tough game,” Beaucamp said.

As for the Thunderbirds, who came in as the fourth-ranked team, their tournament has come to an end thanks to two consecutive losses.

STAT LEADERS

VIC: 18-20-14-19: 71

UBC: 16-20-15-14: 65

Boxscore: Stats VIC UBC

Victoria

Points: Chris McLaughlin (20), Brin Taylor (16), Terrell Evans (16)

Rebounds: Chris McLaughlin (6), Terrell Evans (6)

Assists: Kyle Peterson (6)

Player of the game: Chris McLaughlin

UBC

Points: Brylle Kamen (19), David Wagner (12), Isaiah Solomon (11)

Rebounds: Conor Morgan (11), Brylle Kamen (7)

Assists: Isaiah Solomon (6)

Player of the game: Brylle Kamen

SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times EASTERN TIME)

Friday, March 8

12:00 Quarter-final #1: Lakehead 74, Cape Breton 61

14:15 Quarter-final #2: Ottawa 82, McGill 70

18:00 Quarter-final #3: Acadia 89, UBC 80

20:00 Quarter-final #4: Carleton 83, Victoria 46

Saturday, March 9

12:00 Consolation #1: McGill 86, Cape Breton 84 (OT)

14:15 Consolation #2: Victoria 71, UBC 65

17:30 Semifinal #1: Lakehead vs. Ottawa (THE SCORE / www.CIS-SIC.tv)

20:15 Semifinal #2: Acadia vs. Carleton (THE SCORE / www.CIS-SIC.tv)

Sunday, March 10

11:00 5th place: McGill vs. Victoria (www.CIS-SIC.tv)

13:15 Bronze medal game (www.CIS-SIC.tv)

15:30 Championship final (THE SCORE / www.CIS-SIC.tv)

Your sports. Your teams. The ISN Daily Digest.

Sign up to the ISN Daily Digest and sit back while we pick the previous day’s best headlines and speed them straight to your inbox every morning.

Email address

First Name*

We abide by all applicable emailing laws including 100% CAN-SPAM/CASL/US CAN-SPAM Act compliance. No spam!